1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Split Second. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
The play tales place in Manhattan, New York, present time. It is the evening of July 4th and it starts with two of the characters, Val, and Willis, on a sidestreet, 28th and Eleventh Avenue. Val is a black male cop dressed in street clothes who has just caught Willis, a white male also dresses in street clothes, attempting to steal a car. Val has put Willis in cuffs and is waiting for a cop car to come pick him up. The two men argue and eventually Val shoots and kills Willis.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? Be careful when citing the intrustion, it may not be where you initially think it is.
Though there are many opinions on when the intrusion occurs in this play, I believe that the intrusion is when Val meets his father Rusty and tells him the truth of the crime he has committed.Previously, Val has told Parker, Alea, and Charlie various versions of the truth, some more truthful than others, but he only tells Rusty the full truth. Rusty does not agree with what his son has done and believes that Val should confess to his crimes.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The play starts to take place on Independence day. This is the day Val murders Willis. It is ironic that it is July 4th because that is the day that is supposed to signify freedom and unity of all Americans. The racial conflict between Val and Willis show that America is not all united. Because Val commits a crime, he is tied to guiltand possible imprisonment, the opposite of freedom.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Will Val confess to murdering Willis without a lawful reason? Will Parker find out the truth? Will Rusty persuade Val to be a truthful man?
5. Use Val to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what Val wants (NOTE: In Split Second the wants of Val are in flux and he is being swayed by his father, his wife, his friend, and his colleague at work. His wants seem to change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that the character encounters.
a. Val is against his own morals because he seems to want to tell the truth. He is faced with the guilt of killing Willis and not paying for his crime, or going to jail and leaving his wife byherself. b. Val is going against his father because Rusty wants Val to tell the truth, but Val disagrees. Alea somewhat persuades Val to not listen to Rusty and tries to persuade Rusty to accept what Val has done, in a way giving him permission to not tell the cops thetruth. c. Val is breaking the law by staying quiet about the real reason he killed Willis. What he did way against the code and oath he took when he became a cop. d. Though Val does not tell Parker the truth, Parker might still find out from new evidence or from a slip up in Val's testimony.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Split Second.
The first theatrical moment in my opinion is when Val shoots Willis. It happens very quickly, in a literal split second, and the impact is huge because the lives of Val and Willis change by this moment. Willis is dead, and Val has killed a man and may go to jail. The other moment which I found intriguing was the end scene when Val decides to stick to his lie. I expected him to tell the truth because I thought his dad may have had a bigger influence on his decision, but I was wrong. The play then ends, leaving a sort of mysterious and dark air, has I was curious to know what would happen afterwards.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Split Second. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
I thought that having the play take place on July 4th symbolized freedom and it's irony in the play because no one really had freedom that night. Willis had his freedom taken from him the moment he was shot, Val has his freedom compromised when he killed Willis and lied about it, Alea might have lost her husband to jail, and Rusty learned that his son is not as honest and noble has he wanted him to be. The knife that Willis had was very crucial to Val's innocence. Without the knife, Val would have no real justification for killing Willis. The knife is what saves Val from going to jail. The third example of imagery in this play was the street where the play started in. It was night, and dim light, which foreshadowed a dark event. The streets and alleyways of NYC are known to be dangerous at night, so it was unexpected when Willis was caught trying to steal.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Split Second.
Racism, Justice, Family, Pride, Honor, and Guilt were all at the center of this play.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Split Second?
Val faces two family members in this play, and a conflict is inflicted with both. First there is Alea, who is Val's wife. When Val comes home the night of the 4th, he does not tell Alea the truth about Willis. When he later tells her that it was not anaccident Alea does not want Val to tell Parker the truth because then she will be lonely and known as the killer cop's wife. She repeatedly try to convince Val that killing Willis was not his fault and try to come up excuses, such as " Charlie would have done the same". Rusty is the second member of the family. He is Val's dad and former cop. He seems to have been an honorable cop and Val tells him the truth about what he did when he goes to meet him. Rusty, unlike Alea, believes that Val did a terrible thing and should tell the truth to Parker. Also unlike Alea, he tries his best to persuade Val that what he did was wrong. To Val, these are the two most important people in his lives.Val has to choose who he is going to listen to, the father who raised him or the woman who he chose to be with.
1. In the space below, describe the stasis at the beginning of Split Second. In other words, “Where are we?” “When is it (time, day, and year)?” “Who are the people involved?” “What is the dramatic situation in which the characters find themselves as the play unfolds?”
The play tales place in Manhattan, New York, present time. It is the evening of July 4th and it starts with two of the characters, Val, and Willis, on a side street, 28th and Eleventh Avenue. Val is a black male cop dressed in street clothes who has just caught Willis, a white male also dresses in street clothes, attempting to steal a car. Val has put Willis in cuffs and is waiting for a cop car to come pick him up. The two men argue and eventually Val shoots and kills Willis.
2. What is the intrusion that causes the stasis to be broken and the dramatic action to develop, often at an increasingly rapid pace, to the end of the play? Be careful when citing the intrustion, it may not be where you initially think it is.
Though there are many opinions on when the intrusion occurs in this play, I believe that the intrusion is when Val meets his father Rusty and tells him the truth of the crime he has committed. Previously, Val has told Parker, Alea, and Charlie various versions of the truth, some more truthful than others, but he only tells Rusty the full truth. Rusty does not agree with what his son has done and believes that Val should confess to his crimes.
3. Why do the events of the play take place at this particular time and place? In other words, what is the unique factor which is out of the ordinary that causes a turn of events to take place?
The play starts to take place on Independence day. This is the day Val murders Willis. It is ironic that it is July 4th because that is the day that is supposed to signify freedom and unity of all Americans. The racial conflict between Val and Willis show that America is not all united. Because Val commits a crime, he is tied to guilt and possible imprisonment, the opposite of freedom.
4. State the dramatic questions that must be answered by the end of the play? (Ordinarily, the dramatic question shares a close connection with the intrusion.)
Will Val confess to murdering Willis without a lawful reason? Will Parker find out the truth? Will Rusty persuade Val to be a truthful man?
5. Use Val to answer the questions concerning character. Ball says, a character is revealed by what he/she does, that is, dramatic actions that are taken. Examine what Val wants (NOTE: In Split Second the wants of Val are in flux and he is being swayed by his father, his wife, his friend, and his colleague at work. His wants seem to change as the play progresses). The wants of a character often encounter obstacles that get in the way of achieving those wants. Ball says there are 4 kinds of obstacles that frustrate the wants of a character. They are: a. Me against myself, b. Me against another individual, c. Me against society (that is law, social norms, etc.) and, d. Me against fate, the universe, natural forces, God or the gods. In answering these questions be sure to point to the particular obstacles that the character encounters.
a. Val is against his own morals because he seems to want to tell the truth. He is faced with the guilt of killing Willis and not paying for his crime, or going to jail and leaving his wife by herself.
b. Val is going against his father because Rusty wants Val to tell the truth, but Val disagrees. Alea somewhat persuades Val to not listen to Rusty and tries to persuade Rusty to accept what Val has done, in a way giving him permission to not tell the cops the truth.
c. Val is breaking the law by staying quiet about the real reason he killed Willis. What he did way against the code and oath he took when he became a cop.
d. Though Val does not tell Parker the truth, Parker might still find out from new evidence or from a slip up in Val's testimony.
6. The most important information in most plays takes place during theatrical moments. Identify the most theatrical moments in Split Second.
The first theatrical moment in my opinion is when Val shoots Willis. It happens very quickly, in a literal split second, and the impact is huge because the lives of Val and Willis change by this moment. Willis is dead, and Val has killed a man and may go to jail. The other moment which I found intriguing was the end scene when Val decides to stick to his lie. I expected him to tell the truth because I thought his dad may have had a bigger influence on his decision, but I was wrong. The play then ends, leaving a sort of mysterious and dark air, has I was curious to know what would happen afterwards.
7. Provide at least three examples of images in Split Second. How does the title of the play help us understand the images in the play? (Remember Ball says that, “An image is the use of something we know that tells us something we don’t know.” He goes on to say that images invoke and expand, rather than define and limit.”)
I thought that having the play take place on July 4th symbolized freedom and it's irony in the play because no one really had freedom that night. Willis had his freedom taken from him the moment he was shot, Val has his freedom compromised when he killed Willis and lied about it, Alea might have lost her husband to jail, and Rusty learned that his son is not as honest and noble has he wanted him to be. The knife that Willis had was very crucial to Val's innocence. Without the knife, Val would have no real justification for killing Willis. The knife is what saves Val from going to jail. The third example of imagery in this play was the street where the play started in. It was night, and dim light, which foreshadowed a dark event. The streets and alleyways of NYC are known to be dangerous at night, so it was unexpected when Willis was caught trying to steal.
8. Ordinarily, there are many themes in most plays. List the themes in Split Second.
Racism, Justice, Family, Pride, Honor, and Guilt were all at the center of this play.
9. Most American plays have something to do with family and/or family relationships. What does family have to do with the dramatic action in Split Second?
Val faces two family members in this play, and a conflict is inflicted with both. First there is Alea, who is Val's wife. When Val comes home the night of the 4th, he does not tell Alea the truth about Willis. When he later tells her that it was not an accident Alea does not want Val to tell Parker the truth because then she will be lonely and known as the killer cop's wife. She repeatedly try to convince Val that killing Willis was not his fault and try to come up excuses, such as " Charlie would have done the same". Rusty is the second member of the family. He is Val's dad and former cop. He seems to have been an honorable cop and Val tells him the truth about what he did when he goes to meet him. Rusty, unlike Alea, believes that Val did a terrible thing and should tell the truth to Parker. Also unlike Alea, he tries his best to persuade Val that what he did was wrong. To Val, these are the two most important people in his lives. Val has to choose who he is going to listen to, the father who raised him or the woman who he chose to be with.